2002 Commemoration

Wall of Commemoration
This is your space to look back on 9/11 and to look forward in faith with hope. Please feel free to post your message – a tribute, a commemoration, a prayer – for a loved one or friend, for victims in general, or for the world that was forever changed on 9/11. We've left space for you, but we ask to please be brief.

	All of the families of the victims of 911     May God be with you and comfort you, and give you strength this holiday season
	My colleagues - my friends     “Are you working tomorrow?” So went the question, asked among family and friends, asked in e-mails, discussed among strangers on the subway, asked by the person working the corner coffee stand. Anxiety levels are high; emotions are on the brink. The government raised its terror alert from yellow to orange. “Are you working tomorrow?” In the months following the attacks, I would often write to family and friends who live in other states or countries. In time, I stopped writing. They would email me, “are you feeling better yet?” I grew tired of telling them no. We’re still on edge – anxious – sad. People we know have died. The visible reminders remain too strong. The skyline is dramatically changed. Our firehouse doors remain open and people continue to bring flowers, candles, cards, and other offerings of support. The photos that people carried around Ground Zero in those early days after the attacks now adorn walls of remembrance in the city. We were awakened early one morning to the drone of fighter planes escorting a flight into LaGuardia. Fighter planes have resumed their surveillance of the city. There are other more subtle changes. New York is a loud, bustling city. People remain focused and are not distracted by noises and unusual sights. Yet a week ago when helicopters were hovering above because of an NFL concert, people were gazing at the sky. One man stopped me and said, “something is wrong. We have to protect ourselves. Something is evil.” I tried to reassure him that it was security for the concert. But he barely spoke – or understood – English. “Something is wrong, something is evil,” he kept repeating. You meant this for evil, but God has turned it to good. It is hard to speak of good when we still have so many remnants of evil. This past Sunday the congregation was quiet, our heads bowed, as our pastor broke the host in half – in quarters. The sound seemed amplified and I flinched. The sound of a plane crashing in a building, the sound of a skyscraper falling, the sound of bodies hitting the pavement, the sound of nails pinning Christ to the cross, the sound of His body being broken. The sounds of evil. You meant this for evil, but God has turned it to good. The sound of Christ’s body broken – a body now raised – a body that will come again. And I thought of good amid the evil. I thought of Ed, Mike, John, Dave, Michael, Rob, Bobby, Anthony, Al, and Devin and I knew our fellowship had not ended but will continue throughout eternity. You meant this for evil, but God has turned it to good. May God bring peace to our hearts.   Eileen Smith - ING Americas / Metro NY Synod
	The firefighters who died     On Sept, 12, 2001, I attended the Service of Compline at Holy Trinity, where Pastor Robert Sholz suggested that we all ask ourselves, "What can I do?" in the wake of the September 11 attacks. That stumped me. I couldn’t turn back the clock and make the horror not have happened. I couldn’t look for bodies at the site. The Red Cross was throwing out the blood that had been donated. But after a while, I realized that I could attend the memorial services for the seven guys missing from my local firehouse, Ladder 25, and I could follow the lead of Holy Trinity member Patricia McGreevey, who had turned the sports bar that she co-owns — Blondies —into a haven for the firefighters by buying them meals and listening to their stories. Soon, we were meeting guys from Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Vancouver, you name it, who were using their vacations and their own money to come to New York and attend the funerals of their fallen brothers. We got to be friends with a group of firefighters from Boston, and attended a fundraiser they held in Boston for Ladder 25, which raised $30,000 for the families six weeks after the attacks. The money was much-needed at that time. That gave me an idea. As executive editor of "Soap Opera Digest," I could ask actors from the four New York-based soap operas ("All My Children," One Life To Live," "Guiding Light" and "As The World Turns") to attend events with fans for firefighters and police officers to raise money. So on November 29, February 28 and June 27, we held fundraisers at Blondies, with soap stars as celebrity bartenders serving drinks to fans who each paid $25 for the privilege. We raised close to $40,000 for the families, but far more important to them was the fact that so many people wanted to honor their departed loved ones. It meant a lot that stars like Susan Lucci came out to personally thank the firefighters from her local firehouse. As we approach the anniversary of the tragedy, it’s obvious that any money raised from this point on has become secondary to our need to KEEP remembering. Holy Trinity plans a Service of Remembrance on 9/11, which will honor all of those lost, including the local firefighters (11 from Engine 40/Ladder 35 and 7 from Ladder 25). We will invite their families and firefighter brothers to attend, even though most of them did not live in New York City and were not Lutheran. That is not important. What’s important is that their families know that we will honor their memories on this tragic anniversary. We have not forgotten. And we will never forget.   Carolyn Hinsey
	The people of Holy Trinity, Mahattan     At Holy Trinity in Manhattan, we’re reminded almost every Sunday of the part the church played on that fateful day -- through sermon references, messages from out-of-towners, fundraisers etc. Because mass transit was virtually unavailable in the terror's aftermath, refugees from lower Manhattan trudged uptown on foot, many of them stopping in our church – its doors flung wide on that day -- to refresh themselves in one way or another. Pastor Scholz and our vicar at the time, Tom Dorsey, were there to welcome them. In his farewell sermon on June 30, based on St. Mark's Gospel of giving a cold cup of water to those desiring it, Dorsey recalled how our church did the same on 9/11 and what a moving experience it was. To Pastor Scholz, it was day that has affected him to such an extent that not only does he refer to it in his sermons, months later, but also he plans to write about it. He is taking some time-off to do that. Although none of Holy Trinity's members was either killed or injured in the attack, all felt it in varying degrees, and all were, I think, drawn somewhat closer together by it. Hours afterward, the office staff and a few volunteers polled our members by phone to determine their fates. Such concern still manifests itself in our congregational life.   Paul Enger
	This great NYC Lutheran network     For the organizing, networking, sheer dogged persistence in dealing with mind numbing issues and political challenges to ensure dignity, and provide support in accompanying persons, families, communities impacted by 9/11 - God bless you all - LDRNY, Project Life, Lutheran Counseling Center, LSS of Metro NYC, Camp New Ground, the chaplains, the pastors, our Lutheran judicatories, Lutheran Medical Center... and God strengthen you all for the rest that is to come.   Johanna Olson, ELCA Disaster Response, Chicago, IL
	The Helpers & Healers     Thank you's to: John, Lena, Wendy & Jennifer (LDRNY )...David Grand and all the EMDR therapists...Capt. Denis Murphy, Capt. Jim Johnson (FDNY) and Lt. Steve Dato (NYPD) ...To all of them for doing so much for so many.   Pr. Tom Taylor, Chaplain, NBFD & T-Mort Chaplain
	New Ground Day Camp Staff     I give thanks to God for the gifted people who have been sent to Koinonia to make this dreamed vission come to life. The healing of the Holy Spirit has breathed new life upon our all God's children through the day camps. With Joseph I give thanks for God's presence as we journey onto New Ground.   Ann Tiemeyer -- Director of New Ground Day Camp
	ProjectLIFE     Thank you to the ProjectLIFE care team members who have worked so hard to help those in need.   LDRNY